A quick learner, Kamila Swanson has become one of the top Iowa high school divers

IOWA CITY — Kamila Swanson is a relative newcomer to the diving scene.

Swanson, no pun intended, is making a big splash.

A junior at Iowa City Liberty, Swanson competes for Iowa City West. After spending six years as a gymnast, she turned her attention to diving and has quickly become one of Iowa's best prep performers.

“Diving was the next sport I discovered to be the most intriguing,” she said, “so I chose it and have loved it ever since.”

The IGHSAU state diving competition will be held Friday, part of the two-day girls’ state swimming and diving meet at the Marshalltown YMCA. Swanson is the No. 2 seed. Her qualifying score of 490.80 is behind only Marshalltown's Abby Tollefson (536.95).

Tollefson was expected to contend for the title after finishing second last year. Swanson qualified for state in 2022, but failed to make the finals, finishing 23rd.

West diving coach KasiJaden Natarajan said Swanson has become a student of the sport, willing to study and learn the more sophisticated nuances necessary to become a top performer.

“There have been many factors to Kamila’s improvement over the past year,” said Natarajan, who also serves as Swanson's club coach. “The main factor for her growth and development has been the amount of work that she has put in during the offseason, perfecting basic skills and learning more advanced dives.

“Whether at club practice or in the weight room, she has raised her level of effort and commitment several degrees.”

One of Swanson's best traits is forcing herself to remain in the moment, never letting herself think too far ahead.

“I gained more experience in this sport over the last year, as I was still relatively new to it,” she said. “I've gotten stronger and more confident with my dives over the last year by working hard every practice and taking it day by day.”

The physical aspects of diving are not the only area where Swanson has made gains.

“The other factor that I attribute much of Kamilla's success to is her much higher levels of confidence that she came into this year with as opposed to last year,” Natarajan said. “This confidence has come from a deeper understanding of the sport from a technical standpoint and a higher level of self-belief in her own abilities.”

Swanson credits Natarajan for her growth in the sport.

“He has made a significant impact on my career,” Swanson said. “He provides helpful feedback and keeps me motivated throughout each practice.”

With one of her biggest competitions to date facing her, Swanson will take a simple strategy to Marshalltown.

“I am approaching the state meet on Friday with a positive mindset,” she said. “I will try to focus on each dive rather than the scoring.”

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Here are the girls’ state swimming and diving qualifiers

Preliminaries in individual swim events will be held at 11 a.m. Friday with the diving competition set for 4:30 p.m. Swimming finals are set to begin at noon Saturday.

Waukee is the two-time defending state champion and is expected to make it three straight.

Individually, Iowa City High junior Grace Hoeper will be the top seed in her efforts to defend her state title in the 50-yard freestyle. Hoeper had the top qualifying time of 23.37. She is also the second seed in the 100 freestyle behind Waukee's Nora Kemp.